Toy container with randomly unlatchable lid



Nov. 19, 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 7, 1966 2 2 3 MW W V/v M m WJ w F F m w 4 J NOV. 19, 1968 J, COOPER 3,411,786

TOY CONTAINER WITH RANDOMLY UNLATCHABLE LID Filed March 7, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. Juz/z/s 600/ 6? United States Patent 3,411,786 TOY CONTAINER WITH RANDOMLY UNLATCHABLE LID Julius Cooper, New Hyde Park, N.Y., assignor to Ideal Toy Corporation, Hollis, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed Mar. 7, 1966, Ser. No. 532,241 4 Claims. (Cl. 273-138) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A childs toy consisting of a container having a spring biased lid which is latched in a closed position, an unlatching mechanism selectively operated by only one of six levers, and means which randomly selects which lever is effective to operate the unlatching mechanism.

The present invention relates generally to toys, and more particularly to an amusement device useful as an accessory for a childs board game or the like.

The play value of any toy or childs amusement device is understandably related to the number and variety of conditions for operating the device. As a general rule, a device which is functional under conditions established for its operating parts on a random basis and under circumstances where the establishing of these conditions is hidden from the view of the users of the device has considerable play value as an accessory for a board game or the like and possibly as a toy per se. There is a scarcity of devices fulfilling the foregoing conditions despite the considerable effort continually exerted in the design of toys and games to develop such devices, and this undoubtedly is due to the complexity of providing such random functioning devices which must also be susceptible to economical manufacture.

Broadly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an amusement device which has random functioning and which also readily lends itself to economical mass production techniques. Specifically, it is an object to provide an actuating mechanism embodied in an accessory amusement device for a board game wherein a number of individual actuating members comprise said mechanism and as few as only one particular one of these members, at any one time, is rendered effective to perform its intended function, and this particular member, moreover, is readily adapted to be changed preparatory to each use of the device.

An amusement device demonstrating features and objects of the present invention includes a movable part, which in the embodiment illustrated herein is a springbiased lid for a compartment, such lid having the usual open and closed positions relative to the compartment. A holding member having a latch thereon releasably engages the lid in the closed position thereof when the lid is under a spring-urgency to move into its open position and, in practice, is adapted to be disengaged therefrom by a random functioning actuating mechanism. This actuating mechanism includes plural actuating members or levers, any one of which is capable of unlatching the lid by abutting against the holding member during movement into an actuating position. By maintaining certain operating conditions, the actuating mechanism hereof is capable of limiting as few as only one of the levers from attaining its actuating position, and further has provision for random changing of these operating conditions to render each one of the levers at any one time effective to unlatch the lid.

The above brief description, as well as further objects, features and advantages of the present invention, will be more fully appreciated by reference to the following de- 3,411,786 Patented Nov. 19, 1968 tailed description of a presently preferred, but nonetheless illustrative embodiment in accordance with the present invention, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an amusement device for a childs game or the like demonstrating features of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an elevational view, in section, taken on line 22 of FIG. 1 illustrating internal features of construction thereof and .a closed position of a movable lid thereon;

FIG. 3 is an elevational view similar to FIG. 2 but in section taken on line 33 of FIG. 1, and illustrating the operating conditions thereof producing an open position of the lid;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the amusement device with a bottom cover thereof removed and looking in the direction of the arrows on line 4-4 of FIG. 2, and with portions thereof broken away in a medial area to better illustrate structural features of a latch in this area;

FIGS. 5-10, inclusive, are sectional views of positioncontrolling means utilized in the device hereof to provide selective control over tripping of the holding member, namely, to wit:

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken on line 55 of FIG. 4 showing the rotated position of a notched positioning disc associated with an actuating member or lever located at the extreme right on the device as viewed. in FIG. 1 when the position-controlling means is itself in a particular position of rotation;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 5, taken on line 66 of FIG. 4, but of the notched positioning disc associated with the lever adjacent to the lever of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken on line 77 of FIG. 4 showing the next adjacent notched positioning disc which is effective to produce the open position of the movable part as shown in FIG. 3; and

FIGS. 8, 9 and 10 are likewise sectional views, taken respectively on lines 88, 9-9 and 1010 of FIG. 4, of the remaining notched positioning discs of the device hereof in the respective rotated positions occupied by such discs in said particular position of rotation of the posi-.

tion-controlling means.

Reference is now made to the drawings wherein there is shown a box-like constructed device 20 having a pivotal ly mounted lid 22 thereon which, during use, may have a closed position as illustrated in FIG. 2 or open position as illustrated in FIG. 3. One contemplated use for the device 20 is in conjunction with a board game or the like for a child which according to the laying rules thereof may call for the user receiving a reward in the form of tokens, etc. deposited in the compartment 24 at the time when the lid 22 is opened. To this end, the device 20 includes a plurality of actuating members or levers 26, 27, 28, 29, 30 and 31, totaling six in all in the illustrated embodiment hereof, any one of which under proper circumstances is effective to cause the lid 22 to open when this lever is depressed. The play value of the amusement device 20 is thus derived from the ability to prevent all but one of the levers 2631 from producing the open condition of the lid 22 and also readily changing the operating circumstances so that a different lever, by random selection. is the effective one to cause opening of the lid 22.

The amusement device 22 is preferably an injection molded plastic article of manufacture having side walls 34 and 36, and integral front and rear walls 38 and 40, respectively. At the front wall 38, the device 20 has a tier construction formed by a horizontal wall 42 and an inclined wall 44 integral therewith. This front portion of the device 20 is completed by an upper, generally horizontal wall 46 which bounds the open top of the compart- 3 ment. The front, side and rear walls 38, 34, 36 and 40, respectively, terminate at their respective lower edges in a lip construction 48 which, in practice, receives in a snap fit or other appropriate manner a bottom cover 50 which completes the external construction of the device 20.

As best shown in FIGS. 2, 3, a transverse wall 52 is molded integral with the side walls 34 and 36 at a location approximately coinciding with the edge of the upper wall 46 bounding the compartment top opening. This transverse wall 52, together with the rear portions of the side walls 34 and 36, the rear wall 40 and the rear portion of the bottom cover 50, define the compartment. The lid 22 has laterally extending pins 22a at opposite sides on the rear edge thereof which are disposed through openings in an upper rear corner of each of the side walls 34 and 36 for pivotally mounting the lid 22 in the top opening. A conventional coiled spring 54 is disposed about a. pin 22a and has opposite ends bearing against the rear wall 40 and the underside of the lid 22 such that the lid 22 is normally under spring urgency to move into its open position relative to the compartment. An opening 56 is provided in a medial location of the lid 22 for depositing tokens or similar items into the compartment in accordance with a contemplated use of the device for a childs board game. Just forward of the opening 56 and along the free end of the lid 22 is a depending wall section 221) having a groove therein which cooperates with a holding member for maintaining the lid 22 in its closed FIG. 2 position.

As best shown in FIGS. 2-4, the holding member, generally designated 60, is located transversely of the device 20 beneath the upper wall 46. The holding member 60 includes a body 62 having laterally extending pins 62a at opposite ends thereof which extend into wall constructions 64 and 66 molded internally integral with the device 20 at the corners of the upper, horizontal wall 46 and transverse wall 52. At a medial location along the front edge of the body 62 is an extending section forming a latch 62b which, in practice, extends into the groove 58 to hold the lid 22 in its closed position. On the other side of the body 62 there is 2. depending leg 62c extending the entire width of the body 62 and projecting into the path of movement of the actuating ends of the levers 26-31, as best seen in FIGS. 2, 3. As a consequence, abutment against leg 620 is effective to cause pivotal movement of the holding member 60 about the pivot axis provided by the laterally extending pins 62a. Laterally extending ears 62d on opposite ends of the body 62 are connected to springs 68 which, in turn, are connected at opposite ends to pins 69 depending from the upper wall 46. Thus, the holding member 60 is under springurgency to normally remain in the position engaging the lid as shown in FIG. 2.

The actuating members or levers 26-31 are idenitcal in construction and thus only one such lever will be described herein for brevity sake. Each of these levers like lever shown in FIG. 2, is generally L-shaped, having a horizontal and a vertical leg 70 and 72, respectively. A horizontally oriented shaft 74 spanning the width of the device 20 and anchored at opposite ends, as at 76, in each of the side walls 34, 36 are accommodated through openings in the lower corners of the vertical legs 72 for mounting each of the levers 26-31 for pivotal movement about the axi of the shaft 74. At the upper end of the opposite edge of the legs 72 there is an extension 72a which normally extends behind the depending wall 62c and is the portion on each of the levers 26-31 which abuts against this wall in causing pivotal movement of the holding member 60, as is best seen by progressive examination of FIGS. 2 and 3. A projecting section 72b on leg 72 at the lower end thereof bears against a spring metal band 78 held at opposite ends in wall constructions 80 and 82 molded integral with the transverse wall 52. As best shown in FIG. 4, spaced ribs 84 in the transverse wall 52 maintain a slight clearance between the band 78 and the wall so that slight movement of the sections 72 inwardly against the band 78 to the extent of such clearance is possible, and the return of these spring portions to their normal condition is effective to cause pivotal movement of the levers 26-31 from the position depicted in FIG. 3 back to the normal condition thereof as depicted in FIG. 2.

The horizontal leg 70 of each of the levers 27-31 is projected to the exterior of the device 20 through L-shaped slots 86 in the tier construction 42, 44. Each of these projecting portions of the leg 70 are formed into fiat surfaces 70a convenient for depressing the levers. Integral with the leg 70 at the projecting end thereof but on the side opposite the finger-depressing surfaces 70a are projecting corner sections 70b which must have clearance for movement within the front portion of thed evice 20 in order that the levers 26-31 can pivot in a counterclockwise direction to an extent suflicient to trip the latch 62b. Spaced pairs of upstanding pins 87 molded on the bottom cover 50 straddle each leg 72 to maintain the position of each lever.

In accordance with the present invention, 'a positioncontrolling means, generally designated 88, is provided in the respective paths of movement of the lever sections 70b in order to selectively allow as few as only one of these levers to be depressed to the fullest extent into the front portion of the device 20 so that the lever can partake of a full transverse of counterclockwise pivoting movement which is required in order to trip the latch 62b and release the lid 22. As best seen in FIG. 4 in conjunction with FIGS. 2 and 3, this position-controlling means 88 includes a shaft-like body 90 supported at spaced locations therealong on upstanding pins 92 hearing against circular segments 90a of the body and thus occupying an elevated position within the front portion of the device 20. Spaced pairs of pins 94 depending from the horizontal Wall 42 straddle the rotatable body 90- and cooperate with the upstanding pins 92 to maintain the position of the body 90 within the front portion of the device 20 and also to permit free rotation of the body. Discs 96 and 98 molded integral on the rotatable body 90 extend through slots 100 in the wall 42 and, in practice, are rotated by the users of the device 20 to cause rotation of the body 90. Completing the construction of the rotatable body 90 are notched positioning discs associated with each of the levers 26-31, both the disc and notch thereof being designated by the same reference numerals as the lever followed by the letters a and b, respectively. Thus, as best shown in FIG. 4, the rotatable body 90 is generally supported across the paths of movement of each section 7% of the levers 26-31, and specifically a separate one of each of the discs 26a-31a is associated with each of the levers 26-31, by being positioned on the rotatable body 90- at locations therealong directly in the paths of movement of these various levers. The diameter of each of the discs 26a-31a in such that, except in omitted segments which form the notches 26b- 31b thereof, the leg sections 7011 when abutting against the peripheries of these discs is effectively blocked from achieving a sufiicient pivotal movement to unlatch the holding member 60 from the lid 22. This operating condition is shown in FIG. 2 and exemplified by the disc 30a and lever 30. On the other hand, the body 90 in any particular rotated position will have one disc thereon in a rotated position beneath a leg section 70b which has the notch therein presented to such section so that this section can enter into the notch 'and thus the lever partake of sufiicient pivotal movement to result in unlatching the holding member 60 from the lid 22. This operating condition is shown in FIG. 3 and exemplified by the disc 28a and the lever 28. The rotated position of the disc 28a occurs not only when the disc 30a is in the blocking position of FIG. 2 but also when the other discs 26a, 27a and 31a are similarly in blocking positions, such that the lever 28 is the only one, under the condition just described, which is effective to unlatch the lid 22 when depressed.

To achieve the foregoing selective movements of the various levers 26-31 the notches 2 6b3=1b are appropriately circumferentially spaced from each other in the discs 26a-3la so that only one such notch occupies a position directly in the path of movement of the leg section 70bto accommodate this leg section therein. In the embodiment illustrated herein, since there are six levers 26-31, the disc notches 26b-31b are progressively circumferentially spaced 60 from each other, from the first disc 26a and to the last disc 31w. providing 360 coverage for the rotatable body 90. This circumferential spacing of the disc notches 26b-31b can best be seen by progressive examination of FIGS. 5-10. Except for the notches 27b and 30b, each of the other notches is of a generally triangular shape and is formed by inclined surfaces 102 which terminate at an edge of the apex thereof. If a spin of either of the discs 96, 98 thus happens not to rotate any of the notches 26b, 28b, 29b and 31b into an exact position permitting the leg section 70b to be accommodated fully therein, contact by this depressed section 70b against either of the surfaces 102 will result, in an obvious manner, in further rotation of the body 90' to provide the necessary clearance for complete pivotal movement of the leg section 70b.

From the foregoing, it should be readily appreciated that the device hereof represents a useful accessory for a childs board game or the like having a considerable amount of play value. The device 20 is capable of having as few as only one of six possible actuating members or levers 26-31 unlatch the spring-biased lid 22 uncovering the compartment 24, and further is capable of readily changing this single lever, on a purely random basis, merely by changing the rotated position of the body 90 by spinning either disc 96 or 98.

A latitude of modification, change and substitution is intended in the foregoing disclosure and in some instances some features of the invention will be employed without a corresponding use of other features. Accordingly, it is appropriate that the appended claims be construed broadly and in a manner consistent with the spirit and scope of the invention herein.

What is claimed is:

1. An amusement device for a child comprising a box-like structure defining a compartment having an open top, a lid pivotally mounted on said structure in said open top having an open and a closed position relative to said compartment, means normally urging said lid into said open position, a holding member extending the width of said device operatively arranged to releasably engage said lid in said closed position thereof, a bank of levers pivotally mounted adjacent each other across the width of said device, each lever having a first end projecting from said device and a remote second end movable into an actuating position of abutment against said holding member for causing disengagement thereof from said lid, and position-controlling means supported beneath and across the respective paths of movement of said first ends of said levers and effective to selectively permit as few as only one of said levers to attain said actuating position.

2. An amusement device as defined in claim 1 wherein said position-controlling means includes a body mounted for rotation about an axis transverse of the respective paths of movement of said lever first ends and having discs at locations thereon in each of said paths of movement, each disc having a notch therein which is in a progressive circumferential position relative to notches in said other discs such that in different rotated positions of said body a notch is in position to accommodate a lever first end therein permitting movement of this lever to an extent resulting in said remote second end thereon attaining said actuating position.

3. An amusement device as defined in claim 1 wherein said bank of levers is of a predetermined number, and said position-controlling means includes a body mounted for rotation about the axis transverse of the respective paths of movement of said lever first ends and having notches therein in a number equal to said levers and axially and circumferentially spaced from each other along said rotatable body such that in different rotated positions of said body a notch is in position to accommodate a lever first end therein permitting movement of this lever to an extent resulting in said remote second end thereon attaining said actuating position.

4. An amusement device as defined in claim 3 including discs of comparatively large diameters on said rotatable body having peripheral portions thereon projecting from said device into accessible positions for being manipulated by a user of the device to cause rotation of said body and a change in the notch occupying a position in the path of movement of a lever first end so as to receive said lever first end therein.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 479,534 7/1892 Snaman 35-4: 2,690,621 10/1954 Dean 273-138 X 3,060,633 10/1962 Glass et a1 273-453 X 919,148 4/1909 Flint et a1. 27313l ANTON O. OECHSLE, Primary Examiner.

A. W. KRAMER, Assistant Examiner. 

